Test your knowledge of West Hartford history with this ‘Thursday Throwback,’ courtesy of the Noah Webster House and West Hartford Historical Society.
By Ronni Newton
Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.
“Throwback Thursday” (#tbt) has become a popular feature on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media sites. It’s so much fun to see the images of our friends back in their elementary school days, photos of babies who are now in college, unfortunate fashion choices from the ’80s, and much more.
We-Ha.com takes its own historical look back at the town with “Thursday Throwback.” We will feature images of people, places, and events in West Hartford, and we’d love to have your feedback.
Mike Margolis jumped in as the first to comment on last week’s photo, correctly identifying the building in the photo, and assuming that fellow history buff Rick Liftig was sleeping in since Rick is usually the first to comment. “This is the former Cornelius Vanderbilt mansion, now occupied by the West Hill Historic District. Built 1879, razed in 1920,” wrote Mike.
Rick piped in soon thereafter, saying he didn’t want to be an “answer hog,” and adding the following: “The weird twist is that Vanderbilt built it, yet never lived in it.”
Lisa Petersen added her comment on Facebook, also correctly identifying the Vanderbilt Mansion.
For more information about the West Hill Historic District, click here.
Who knows what building is this week’s image, and where it is/was?
Please add your comments below about the featured photo, and we will publish the answers along with next Thursday’s image.
Thank you to the Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society for providing us with the images. For more information about the organization, visit www.noahwebsterhouse.org.
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Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.
The Vanderbilt Mansion once stood in what is now the West Hill Historic District. Courtesy of Noah Webster House & West Hartford Historical Society.
It will be a pleasure to be the first on this one. This is the Goodwin Pottery factory in Elmwood, probably mid 1800’s. The view is looking towards the Southeast from New Britain Avenue, probably from the area around Sheehan’s Funeral Home. Several of those buildings are still in existence in use by Abbott Ball.
The area around the Trout Brook (and throughout the town) had an abundance of high quality clay which was used both in earthenware (Goodwin’s Pottery) and brickmaking. I have always wondered if native American clay artifacts are waiting to be discovered somewhere along the banks of the Trout Brook.
Nice one Rick. We live in a 250 year old West Hartford home, and our gardens are lined with bricks that say KANE from the Michael Kane Brick Co on Kane St (where else?) I guess the clay soil in the southeast part of town was great stuff!